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LAHORE Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt has admitted that the staff strength of the Board would be reduced within a year through a phase wise programme, adding that no exact figure in this regard could be given.
Addressing a press conference on Friday after presiding over the Governing Board meeting in which the issue of downsizing of the staff was also raised, Ijaz began by saying that a news item published in a section of the press regarding the axing of 250 employees was incorrect. He, however, contradicted himself soon enough by admitting that the down-sizing will indeed be carried out but in phases and it would take approximately one year.
At another point during the press conference, Ijaz said that no low-grade employee would be affected by the downsizing scheme. He, however, sort of negated his own statement by adding that the axe would fall on those who were drawing a salary above Rs10,000. The chairman conveniently overlooked the fact that most low-grade employees including the peons, drivers, groundsmen are drawing Rs10,000 and around that figure in the PCB and are bound to get affected by the harsh decision.
The rumours of a downsizing drive started doing rounds during the month of May and sources within the Board confirmed that the PCB had completed the spadework for reducing the staff strength on the instruction of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani under the plan of restructuring.
A three-member committee comprising PCB COO Saleem Altaf, Director Human Resources Wasim Bari and Financial Adviser Mohammad Naeem had given final touches to the sacking programme and a deadline for the decision was set for May 31.
However, the decision was withheld when the plan was exposed through a story published by this newspaper.
Sources said that one of the Governing Board members belong to Karachi raised the issue in the meeting by presenting a copy of Dawn carrying the story. The member, sources said, expressed his concern and raised the question that how could the PCB reduce the staff strength on the instructions of the PM when the PCB comes under the jurisdiction of the president of Pakistan who is the patron.
The member also expressed his concern that sacking of the employees in such a big number would show the presently elected government of PPP in a poor light. When pressed to elaborated further about the decision to axe the employees, the PCB chairman on Friday said that a committee had been formed to remove those employees who were drawing salaries from two different organization (from PCB as well as other places).
'The list of such employees is around 21, including a member of the national selection committee Shoaib Mohammad,' Ijaz disclosed.
He said every such employee would be given an option to either draw a salary from the PCB or opt for another organisation. 'Shoaib would inform the PCB about his decision by the end of this month,' he said.
Ijaz said under this programme, batting legend Javed Miandad (also Director General PCB) and head coach Intikhab Alam both had been removed from the Governing Board as both were paid employees of the PCB.
'The Governing Board has decided in principle that none of its members will be allowed to get salary from the PCB by holding any other responsibility,' he said.
Sources, however, said that Miandad had raised objections on the decision and was of the view that his presence in the Governing Board could guide PCB better in its policies.
Ijaz also defended his decision to send chief selector of the national junior team Mohammad Ilyas as manager of the Pakistan A team to Australia this month.
'Ilyas will not get salary as manager of the team and he is drawing only one salary, that as the chief selector of junior team.'
Meanwhile, sources told Dawn that though the matter relating to the criticisms over the selection of the senior team was not on the agenda, the elected members of the Governing Board raised various objections over the working of Abdul Qadir as head of the senior selection committee.
The chairman asked the members that he was also not satisfy with the selection and he would review both the senior and junior selection committees soon.
The PCB chief said the audit report of the PCB accounts prepared by the Auditor General of Pakistan had been sent to the patron of the PCB.
About the case of medium-fast bowler Mohammad Asif, the chairman said he would announce the final verdict about him in the next couple of days.
The three-member PCB committee, which had completed the hearing of Asif's case about his detention at Dubai in a drug case last year, has handed over his recommendations to the chairman.
